CONGOLESE MILITARY RELEASES FOUR UGANDAN SOLDIERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000949 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2017 TAGS: MOPS ASEC PINS PHUM PGOV PREL EPET UG CG SUBJECT: CONGOLESE MILITARY RELEASES FOUR UGANDAN SOLDIERS HELD IN ITURI REF: KAMPALA 1272 Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Summary: Talks between Congolese and Ugandan military representatives led to the release August 6 of four Ugandan People's Defense Force (UPDF) soldiers who had been held by the Congolese military (FARDC) in Ituri District since July ¶29. The meeting also led to an agreement to establish conflict-resolution mechanisms that will help avoid clashes between the two sides, such as the one August 3 that killed one civilian and one Congolese soldier. Border tensions will likely persist in the area due to poorly-defined boundaries, a history of arms trafficking, and the potential for future oil exploitation. End summary. ¶2. (U) The FARDC on August 6 released four UPDF soldiers it had been holding since July 29 in Ituri District in northwestern DRC. According to MONUC and Congolese officials in Bunia, the FARDC marine unit around Similiki arrested the four after they reportedly crossed into DRC territorial waters. According to the FARDC, the Ugandan soldiers did not identify themselves although they were armed and wearing Ugandan military uniforms. They were subsequently taken to Bunia for further questioning. ¶3. (SBU) The talks that secured the soldiers' release were established following a second -- and presumably unrelated -- incident on Lake Albert August 3 when Congolese and Ugandan soldiers fired on each other, killing one Congolese soldier and one civilian. According to information reported reftel, Congolese armed patrol boats attacked a Heritage Oil exploration crew boat, which was carrying out a seismic survey on Lake Albert. Carl Nefdt, a British national working with Heritage, was killed in the firefight. ¶4. (C) Congolese military officials, however, offer a different explanation for the attack. According to FARDC Ituri Operations Commander General Andre Kinkela, two Heritage Oil boats with armed personnel "overtook" a fishery camp in Rukwanzi in Lake Albert in the Similiki area, entering DRC territorial waters. Authorities in Rukwanzi informed the local FARDC camp, which dispatched its own boats to the area. Kinkela said the Heritage personnel called for "reinforcement" as the FARDC boats approached. Two UPDF armed vessels arrived, reportedly from nearby Ntoroko, and exchanged fire with the FARDC crew. ¶5. (SBU) Following the two incidents, Kinkela headed a 50-member Congolese delegation to Rukwanzi August 6 to meet with Ugandan counterparts, including UPDF General Hudson Mukasa. In addition to the release of the four UPDF soldiers, the two sides agreed to set up conflict resolution mechanisms to avoid future incidents. Marine units of both countries are to establish liaison branches tasked with sharing information on planned patrols along Lake Albert. Both also agreed to hold future meetings on cross-border cooperation between military and civilian authorities of both countries. ¶6. (C) Comment: The border between the DRC and Uganda on and around Lake Albert is ill-defined and has always been porous. Congolese officials are particularly sensitive regarding territorial integrity, and with the area itself having long been a transit point for illegal weapons shipments to Ituri militias from Uganda and elsewhere, they are especially cautious in the region. Oil exploration in the lake may heighten tensions, as the poorly marked borders are an invitation to confusion as to where such activity can take place and who will ultimately profit from it. The Congolese belief that UPDF forces also routinely cross the border, intentionally or not, further adds to the problem. End comment. MEECE